


La Familia

by bericdondarrion



Category: Tennis RPF
Genre: F/M, Team Rafa fluffness, US Open 2019
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-10
Updated: 2019-09-10
Packaged: 2020-10-14 02:30:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,094
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20593211
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bericdondarrion/pseuds/bericdondarrion
Summary: The sound of the shower stopped and not long after, Mery heard the weak voice of her fiancé calling.”I think I need some help... cramps”, Rafa explained with a sigh.~~~ Just a little snippet to team Rafa post us open final 2019 because wholesome people are wholesome.





	La Familia

It had already been an hour since the ceremony. Her hands were still lightly shaking, they never stopped, not for the past five hours even as she continued to stroke Maribel’s hair, trying to soothe her to the best of her ability.

Maribel hadn’t stopped crying since it was all over. She was on the verge of tears since the third set but managed to hold it together right up until that merciful championship point. More than once she had turned around and yelled at the booing crowd. “We just want more tennis”, someone dared to yell back, and Mery squished her thigh as Maribel sit back and whispered to herself chocking down a sob, “but he’s tired, he can’t take another set”.

Mery had hold her hand sometimes too tightly, whispering words or reassurance throughout that hellish fourth set, trying to be the foundation that she had become for the past few years because she just couldn’t break down, she had to keep chanting: “RAFA! RAFA!” Because if she were to despair then, she wouldn’t had been able to get back to her feet. And she just needed to keep chanting his name.

It wasn’t easy, not at all. Not when in the fifth set she saw him down to his knees, trying to focus, trying to catch his breath, trying so damn hard to remain standing.

How could she ever dream of breaking down, when he was down there fighting.

But she could allow Maribel to cry for the two of them, tears of joy and relief at last.

Maymo, Benito and Carlos were relieving their stress by planning the celebrations for tomorrow. She didn’t stop to remind them that he would be too exhausted to get out of bed let alone celebrate. _He’d want nothing but to run back home and sleep for a week_, she thought. They all knew but still, it was good to laugh and joke around after more than five hours of agony.

The water from the shower was running. It was better than what Mery had expected, he was able to walk into the locker rooms and enter the shower without their assistance, even if Sebastián had offered more than once. When the cameras were off and it was just them, his family, he ceased to be the 19th Gran Slam Champion and became his little boy again; sore and tired and ready to fall asleep on the first shoulder he could find.

Maribel was starting to calm down and when Ana María, ever so gracious, never looking away from her son no matter how hard it became, approached them with coffee; the youngest of the Nadal children finally laughed in relief.

”I need to stop coming to his damn matches”, Mery smiled.

The newest member of the team was resting his head against the wall, his eyes closed but Mery could hardly imagine him sleeping. Even so, Francis gave him a light nudge and Charly opened his eyes.

She remembers him gripping the edge of the box rail until his knuckles became white, trying desperate to stop himself from yelling something to his player, anything that could give them a coaching violation.

The newest member indeed but he had been with Rafael since the later was just a kid trying to find his way into the professional world of tennis and Charly had been there as a friend and a mentor to help him out. He loved him like a little brother and today was the first time as his coach to understand why Toni had had that long conversation with him when he offered him the job. _It’s not going to be easy, he will need a friend more often than a coach._ It was never easy with Rafa.

Toni. He had already called Rafa and the usually stoic, very much strict uncle Toni had nothing but words of praise for his ex student. “That was brilliantly played Rafael. The Russian was as tough as they come”.

Rafa smiled silently against the phone.

The sound of the shower stopped and not long after, Mery heard the weak voice of her fiancé calling. 

”I think I need some help... cramps”, Rafa explained with a sigh.

Charly bet her to it and joined Rafa in the changing compartment. It was for the best too: if he needed help getting dressed, she would hardly be able to support his weight, especially given how heavy her arms felt right then. A painful ache reminded her of just how much time she had spent with her arms up in the air, getting the crowd to cheer for her Rafa, the sound of Ashe Stadium booing him still sending some bitterness to her throat.

They had no idea. They would never understand how much this had cost, how awful the beginning of the year was, how hard it was for the entire team and family to be strong when Rafa himself was crumbling and despairing and crying every day, unable to find his way back into confidence. How long ago those days seemed today. And how ridiculous it was to think that by the end of 2019 he would have two grand slams. 19.

Mery heard Charly chuckling and Rafa whimpering.

”What are you doing back there?”, yelled Maymo without faltering his smile.

”Trying to get his jeans on?”, Charly replied back in laughter. Mery could imagine Rafa cursing under his breath.

”Need some help?” Offered Francis.

”He says he wants to keep the last bit of his dignity”.

The light tone made some of her worries vanish. This was just the result of the battering one could expect from such a hard long battle; no big issues seemed to be present. Nevertheless Maymo was already writing down all the things he would have to consider to make sure.

He has always been in good hands.

They exchanged glances when Charly and Rafa finally came out of the changing room, Charly slightly supporting him with one hand on his back and Rafa sporting a grimace on his face. She wanted nothing but to get him back to the hotel and let him sleep for 20 hours if need be.

“You really want to step into the press room looking like this?”, Benito asked and Rafa shrugged.

”I just want to get it over with”.

”Anything hurts more than it should?”, asked Maymo.

”Everything”, Rafa scoffed, “nothing that worries me though”, he quickly added, “just... remind me not to take it to five sets next time”.

Mery made a mental note. 


End file.
